Overview
- Business conditions rose to 9, the strongest reading since March 2024, while business confidence edged down to 6 from 7.
- Sales jumped five points to +19 and profitability increased to +9, with employment holding steady at +3.
- Cost pressures eased as purchase costs rose at a 1% quarterly pace and labour costs at 1.5%.
- Capacity utilisation ticked up to 83.4%, signaling persistent strain in production despite softer input cost growth.
- The report followed the RBA’s decision to hold the cash rate at 3.6% earlier this month, reinforcing expectations of patience on rate cuts.